Want to restore an old watch?

[pwd72s]

Just mad hand skills and know how on display here. 21 minutes...the restoration of a WWII vintage watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwIDhQqRmHI&feature=emb_rel_end

[Evans, Marv]

That was interesting!! Thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Scott Douglas]

Wow, my hands shake too much to do that now.

[GH85Carrera]

Really cool. The chances of me working on a watch are 1/2 the odds of me winning the lottery, and I don't buy tickets. Still, that was neat to see the process.

I wonder how much that same watch sells for now, as a new in the box, and what that restoration costs. Cost is not why it was done, it was to save a cool old memento. That was not a "cheap" watch new. About $800 today. No Rolex, but still a nice watch.

It is great there are still folks in the world with the specialized tools, and the knowledge to do that. He for sure does not do it just a hobby.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

I gave this thread 5 stars because it would only take me 5 seconds to have every single one of those gears fly across the room into oblivion if I tried to fix that thing.

[varmint]

cleaning my 1911 two years ago the main spring guide went sproing.

still haven't found it.

[stuartj]

That was fantastic. Why these minature machines are endlessly fascinating. Thanks for posting.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

Wow, my hands shake too much to do that now.

Me too.

Too much coffee.

And I wouldn't be able to remember where all the bits went back in.

[pwd72s]

Some very specialized tools, and the know-how to use them. I was impressed...even knowing how to replate.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by stuartj

That was fantastic. Why these minature machines are endlessly fascinating. Thanks for posting.

Absolutely. I remember, I think I was about 5 or 6. My grandfather had a big garage with a big work bench. It was an endless source of fascination and entertainment for me. One day, I see a bowl or ashtray with several watches in it. I grab a watch and ask "can I take this apart?" I don't think he was paying attention and said that I could. I took it out into the garage to the workbench. At that age, I didn't have the finesse, but I knew exactly where the hammer was. He came out and and saw all of the parts all over the floor. I don't remember what he said, but I don't think it was as angry as you might expect, probably something like "WHAT are you doing?" I responded "I asked you if I could take it apart and you said that I could." He completely dropped it. He had far more patience than I realized then, especially considering that he was probably 65-66 at the time, and knowing him, there was a chance that it wasn't a cheap watch.

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

I wouldn't be able to remember where all the bits went back in.

THAT'S the part that really gets me. But then if you've been inside enough watches, and you understand how they work, I'm sure it becomes familiar.

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Some very specialized tools, and the know-how to use them. I was impressed...even knowing how to replate.

Very cool. Agreed on the stripping, polishing and replating.

One of my wife's relatives (grandmother's sister) passed away several years ago. The daughter was having an estate sale and selling off some family items, so we went to see if my wife could get them (great grandparents crystal, etc...). I perused the garaged and discovered/determined that the guy had apparently worked on clocks or watches. There were a few interesting little items in his garage. There were some odd round punches, that I'm pretty sure were for punching brass where a hole had enlarged to shrink the hole again, and a few other interesting tidbits that appeared to relate to working on clocks or watches.

[Bill Douglas]

My mom had a beautiful old watch, gold and diamonds sort of thing. I took it to a high end watch repair place for a quote - came back at a couple of grand

I said "How much to put the innards of a Japanese battery watch in it." He said "Twenty five bucks." My mom loved it, and it kept perfect time, plus had the original guts of it in a plastic bag somewhere.

[Reiver]

Amazing dexterity ,,,very interesting

[sugarwood]

Great video. Much respect for these skills!